Nippers or similar tool.



W. A. BERNARD.

NIPPERS 0R SIMILAR TOOL.

APPLICATION FILED 111 11.22. 1913.

1,163,733. Patented Dec.14, 1915.

WITNESSES:

:OLUMBIA FLANOGRAPH co" WASHINGTON. D. c.

IIINI a; ann'r @FFICE.

.WILLIAM A. BERNARD, OF NEW HAVEN, GONNEG'IICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE WILLIAM SCHOLLHORN COMPANY, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF GON- NECTICUT.

NIPPERS OR SIMILAR TOOL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 1 1, 11 5115.

Application filed April 22, 1913. Serial No. 762,873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. BERNARD, a citizen of the United States, residing in New Haven, county of New Haven, and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in N ippers or 'Similar Tools, of which the following is a that easy access may be had to objectionable nails, regardless of their location relatively to the inner face of the shoe sole; to provide a construction whereby the protruding nail may be cut off cleanly at a point flush with the sole surface; to furnish a tool in which a very powerful leverage may be exerted on the nipper edges, whereby the nails may be sheared off with great facility; and to improve the general construction and operation of nippers, for the purposes above mentioned and analogous purposes.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a face elevation of a tool embodying my improvements, looking toward that face which is uppermost when the tool is introduced into a boot or shoe for the purpose mentioned, the jaws being in the normal an enlarged detail section on line 5-5 of" Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawing, 6 and 7 denote sheet metal handle levers of closed crosssectional form. These handle levers are pivoted together intermediate of the ends of the same by means of a pivot pin 8. Those portions 6 and 7 respectively of the handle levers which are disposed in front of the pivot 8 are quite short as compared to the rear portions of the levers which are intended to be grasped by the hand of the operator. In the form shown, the pivot pin 8 passesthrough lugs or cars 9 on the member 6, which are located outside of and in alinement with cooperating cars 10 formed on the member 7. The forward extremity of the portion 6 is pivoted by means of a pin 11 to the shank 12 of a jaw 18, and the portion 7 is pivoted in a similar manner by means of a pin 1% to the shank 15 of a jaw 16. The jaws 13 and 16 are pivoted together intermediate of their ends by means of a pivot pin 17, the shanks 12 and 15 being disposed at the rear of said pivot pin, and the jaws being provided in front of the pivot pin 17 with cooperating cutting edges 18 and 19.

The forward extremities of the portions 6 and 7 are left open to accommodate the rear extremities of the shanks 12 and 15, and the pins 11 and 14, as shown in Fig. 5. The jaws l8 and 16 are preferably of solid or cast construction, and the pivotal connection between said jaws is effected by providing the jaw 12 with a pair of lugs 20, between which is interposed a similar lug 21 of the jaw 16. The pivot pin 17 passes through all three of these lugs, and is preferably smoothed oft flush with the respective faces of the jaws.

The cutting edges 18, 19 are disposed lengthwise of the jaws, the operating portions of the latter being cut away as shown in Fig. 1 to present edges substantially flush with the lower surfaces of the jaws, as shown in Fig. 2. These edges are disposed approximately at right angles to the axis of the pivot 17 thereby providing what is known in the art as a side cutter.

By referring to Fig. 3, it will be noted that the jaws 13, 16 are gently curved substantially throughout their length, and that the handle members 6 and 7 are curved to form a continuation of the jaw curve. In other words, the tool as a whole is curved longitudinally in such a manner that the upper face thereof presents a generally concave shape, whereas the lower surface pre sents a corresponding convex shape. As a result the tool may be inserted in a boot or shoe in such a manner that when the cutting edges 18, 19 lie against and approximately parallel to the inner surface of the sole the handles 6 and 7 will project up out of the boot or shoe at the heel portion thereof, so that the handle members may be readily manipulated to operate the cutter. In other words, the tool is curved substantially throughout its length on a curve disposed in a plane perpendicular to the plane of operation of the cutting edges. The cutting edges are located at the same side of the tool as the convex portion of the curved handle levers. The operation of the tool in cutting nails out of shoes is also facilitated by making the tool quite narrow throughout the greater part of its length. as shown, so that the jaws 13, 16 may be introduced into small shoes without difficulty. The cutting edges or blades 18, 19 will be the only portions of the tool to contact with the sole surface, and the lower faces of the jaws 13, 16 will preferably be finished off smoothly, so as not to catch on the shoe sole. As previously stated, the pivot pin 17 does not project beyond the lower surface of the jaws where it would interfere with the operation thereof.

The parts are normally held in the position indicated in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the cuttingportions of the jaws being in open position, with the shanks 12 and 15 in contact in substantially parallel relation, and

the portions 6 and 7 positioned close together in parallel relation. This is efi'ected by a coil spring 22 embracing the main pivot 8 within the handle members 6, 7, and having its opposite end portions 22, 22 abutted against the outer walls of the respective handle members. Injury of the cutting edges by forcing them together with excessive pressure is prevented by a stop screw 23 passing through the shank of one of the handle members (suchas 6) at a point in the rear of the main pivot, and adapted to contact with the opposing portion of the other handle 7 member.

The operation of the improved tool will be obvious, for the most part, from the foregoing description. The jaws 13, 16 may be readily introduced into the shoe or boot so as to reach the protruding nail, even if the latter is located in the extreme toe portion of the shoe or boot. When the cutting edges have straddled the nail at a point substantially flush with the inner surface of the shoe sole, said edges are brought together pins 11 and 14 are headed atone end, and

are provided with nuts 11' and 14; respectively at the opposite end. By removing the nuts 11*, 1 1, the jaws may be readily detached. In some cases, it may be desirable to use difierent kinds of jaws with the same pair ofhandle levers.

lVhile the foregoing description is necessarily a detailed one in so far as it concerns the particular embodiment of my invention selected for illustration, it will be understood that various modifications of the construction may be adopted within the scope M of the claim.

IVhat I claim is: A pair of nlppers for cutting pegs in shoes consisting of two substantially fiat pivotally united cutting jaws, normally separated,

upwardly curved shanks extending rearwardly from the jaws and normally held in contact in substantially parallel relation,

and'handle parts pivotally united adjacent to their lower ends,the lower parts thereof V being normally positioned close together in parallel relation and plvotally connected to the rear ends of the shanks, the handles lie-- ing curved upwardly throughout the length:

thereof.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set 'my hand on the 21st day of April, 1913.

WILLIAM A. BERNARD.

Witnesses:

HENRY E. ROCKWELL, M. OLIVE WILLIAMS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. G 

